Snafu Leads to ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings Wearing Opponents’ Practice Jerseys

A comedy of errors led to an ECHL team having to wear their opponents’ practice jerseys for a period in their game over the weekend.

The jersey snafu happened on Friday, November 16, as the Kalamazoo Wings traveled to the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, to take on the Toledo Walleye. First, the opening faceoff was delayed half an hour after the Wings’ bus was involved in a minor accident in Michigan. No players or staff were hurt in the crash.

But to pile on, prior to faceoff, the Wings realized they’d forgotten their jerseys back in Kalamazoo. That meant they had to wear the Walleye’s white practice jerseys for the first period of the game.

Raise your hand if you've ever seen this before. The Kalamazoo Wings are wearing the Toledo Walleye's practice jerseys at Toledo.
According to Toledo broadcast, the Wings left their jerseys at home but they're en route. pic.twitter.com/6M1zGPQ5oP
— Justin A. Cohn (@SportsiCohn) November 18, 2023

The jerseys were delivered to the arena in Toledo in time for the Wings to change into them for the second period. It appeared the rest of the Wings’ gear — including helmets, pants, gloves and socks — were available at the start of the game.

The jerseys didn’t carry much luck for the Wings, as they fell behind 2-0 early in the first period and eventually lost the game 4-2.

“It probably affected one guy more than everyone else, and he’s upset that maybe he didn’t do his job there,” Wings head coach Joel Martin told the Toledo Blade. “But [stuff] happens. So, no issue there. We responded in the second and in the third, but you have to have a better start.”

“I thought it was kind of funny,” added Walleye goalie Jan Bednar. “It’s probably a one-in-a-million situation.”

The Walleye, meanwhile, were wearing special jerseys for their Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Their black jerseys featured purple striping and numbers on the back and sleeves. They also had yellow accents, including the outline around the logo on the front and the names on the back.